On November 26, the 27th meeting of the Drin Core Group took place in Skopje, North Macedonia. The purpose of the meeting was the review of ongoing activities supporting the Drin Memorandum of Understanding, the implementation of the Drin Strategic Action Programme as well as assess the progress of activities under the GEF Drin II project, identify synergies and address emerging challenges.
Participants included high-level representatives from the government of North Macedonia, including H.E. Aleksandar Nikolovski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, North Macedonia. In his opening remarks he highlighted the government's support of the Drin River Management Process and the Drin Core Group's key role in enhancing transboundary cooperation.
"Macedonian government was and will be supporting the river Drin management Process as one of the most important water recourses management process in line with the country’s priorities and visions for economic development and the path towards the EU requirements and directives. The sub basin of Lake Ohrid and its integral management remains out highest interest and priority based on the Lake Ohrid watershed management Plan and its program of measures. That is why we strongly support additional GEF project in the Ohrid area which will implement some of the main priority measures in erosion control, infrastructure improvement and fishery management."
The new GEF Drin II project “Implementing the Strategic Action Programme of the Drin Basin to Strengthen Transboundary Cooperation and Enable Integrated Natural Resources Management", project is structured around four key components, each designed to address the basin’s multifaceted challenges:
- Boosting Capacity: By equipping institutions and stakeholders with technical tools and deeper ecological understanding, the project fosters climate-resilient resource management at every level—regional, national, and local.
- Consolidating Frameworks: Strengthened institutional arrangements and new policy instruments will pave the way for seamless cooperation across borders and sectors.
- Addressing Transboundary Issues: From pollution to habitat loss, the project targets the root causes of environmental stress, accelerating SAP implementation.
- Ensuring Participation and Sustainability: Inclusive mechanisms—emphasizing stakeholder engagement, gender mainstreaming, and robust monitoring—guarantee the project’s long-term impact.
The Drin Core Group (DCG), which brings together representatives from all Riparians, is at the heart of coordinated action for the Drin Basin. Charged with guiding the implementation of the Drin Memorandum of Understanding, the DCG plays a key role in advancing a shared vision for sustainable, collaborative management of this vital basin.
The Drin Basin is a complex system that provides a wealth of services to the Drin Riparians that share the basin: energy supply, recreation and tourism, fisheries, water supply for irrigation and domestic uses, sustenance of unique endemic biodiversity, and livelihoods.
At its 27th Meeting, held under the framework of the new Global Environment Facility Drin II Project, members reviewed the ongoing activities supporting the Drin MoU and the implementation of the Drin Strategic Action Programme and assessed the progress of the Project, identified synergies and addressed emerging challenges.
Specifically, the members of the DCG provided guidance on key activities that are being implemented under the Project such as:
- Advancing of a study for an appropriately scaled legal and institutional arrangement to enable coordinated and sustainable management of the Drin Basin.
- Developing the Drin Basin Management Plan, a "long-term action" under the Drin MoU (Article 4), which is a crucial step for enabling Riparian countries to coordinate and implement national management plans across the basin, ensuring sustainable water resources management that would be difficult to achieve otherwise. The Drin River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) is guided by a shared long-term vision developed collaboratively by the Riparians and the Drin Core Group. This vision reflects the collective aspiration to manage the basin as a unified and interconnected system, recognising its unique hydrological, ecological and socio-economic significance.
- Finalizing the Drin Monitoring Programme
- Demonstration measures in the Basin such as wastewater treatment and precision agriculture pilot measures.
This meeting represented a pivotal moment to align efforts, boost cooperation, and accelerate collective action for the future of the Drin Basin in the line with the Strategic Shared Vision for the management of the Drin Basin, as developed in the framework of the Drin Dialogue, formed the Objective of the Drin MoU:
“To promote joint action for the coordinated integrated management of the shared water resources in the Drin Basin, as a means to safeguard and restore to the extent possible the ecosystems and the services they provide, and to promote sustainable development across the Drin Basin”.
The project is funded by GEF and is implemented by UNDP in the four project beneficiary areas in partnership with relevant line ministries, Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean and UNECE.